Sacramento Museum Day: 10 highlights to see this weekend

January 30, 2014

By Stephanie Towe
Sactown magazine
January 30, 2014

The 16th annual Sacramento Museum Day will be held this Saturday.

This Saturday, 30 of the region’s top museums and cultural
destinations will open their doors for the 16th annual Sacramento
Museum Day. Together between the hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the
participating institutions expect to welcome tens of thousands of
visitors with free admission and special programming and
activities (two destinations, the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale
Town, offer half-price admission).

From NASA robots to towering tractors to scavenger hunts, here
are 10 of this year’s Museum Day highlights:

Aerospace Museum of California

Learn about the numerous military aircraft on display at the
museum and check out an exhibit of equipment, uniforms and other
artifacts honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the first
African-American aviators in the US military. Also, the museum
will host one of its rare “open-cockpit” days, offering visitors
a first-hand look at the controls of many of its planes and other
aircraft. 3200 Freedom Park Dr. McClellan. 643-3192.
aerospaceca.org

California Automobile Museum

Take part in a scavenger hunt, which will guide visitors through
the permanent and rotating exhibits inside the Automobile Museum.
A variety of vehicles from other local groups like the Sacramento
Valley Model T Club and Sacramento State’s Formula SAE racing
team will be on display for Museum Day. 2200 Front St. 442-6802.
calautomuseum.org

The California Museum

“Women on the Brink,” a brand-new exhibit debuting this Friday,
features photographs that document the lives of American women
and were taken by the likes of former White House photographer
Barbara Kinney. The Mill, a pop-up café, will be offering Temple
Coffee and Magpie Catering pastries in the museum courtyard
beneath the six-story-tall Constitution Wall sculpture. 1020 O
St. 653-7524. californiamuseum.org

Crocker Art Museum

Sacramento’s venerable arts landmark will provide free hourly
tours of museum highlights, which include the new exhibition
showcasing five decades of work from the celebrated abstract
expressionist Sam Francis as well as classic works from the
museum’s collection. 216 O St. 808-7000. crockerartmuseum.org

The Discovery Museum Science & Space Center

The center’s brand-new “Blast from the Past: Rockin’ Rocks &
Diggin’ Dinos” exhibit offers interactive displays detailing the
work of professional paleontologists, the history and habits of
dinosaurs, and the makeup and properties of rocks, crystals and
fossils. Wannabe astronomers and astronauts can also view a
NASA-built twin robot to the Mars Rover Opportunity that’s
currently exploring and sending back information from the
planet’s surface. 3615 Auburn Blvd. 808-3942. thediscovery.org

Hedrick Ag History Center

In addition to this Woodland museum’s collection of historic farm
equipment, the site will also host a special outdoor display with
two massive modern tractors. Visitors can hear live music from
local folk outfit the Putah Creek Crawdads between 11 a.m. and 1
p.m., as well as enjoy some Southern comfort from Papa Dale’s
Drivin’ Diner, which will be serving up hearty Bayou-style fare
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 1962 Hays Ln. Woodland. 530-666-9700.
aghistory.org

Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum

On Saturday, the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum will honor the
160th anniversary of the founding of Sacramento’s first public
school in 1854. There, visitors can learn about the history of
the region’s public schools and see costumed characters like Dr.
Harvey Harkness, who was Leland Stanford’s personal physician and
served as Sacramento’s first school superintendent. 1200 Front
St. 483-8818. scoe.net/oldsacschoolhouse

Roseville Utility Exploration Center

Don’t miss the Roseville Utility Exploration Center’s new exhibit
“Earth from Space”—which was organized by the Smithsonian
Institution’s Travelling Exhibition Service and the U.S.
Geological Survey. The show will take visitors up, up and away
with a number of satellite images capturing everything from a
massive hurricane to the Great Pyramids to grid-like swaths of
farmland. 1501 Pleasant Grove Blvd. Roseville. 746-1550.
roseville.ca.us/explore

Sacramento Children’s Museum

Little ones can check out the museum’s recently debuted
Lego-themed display, have their faces painted, visit a
bubble-making station and take part in hands-on activities like
painting and sculpting blocks of ice. A number of vendors and
food trucks like Sun Pizza and Art of Popcorn will be fueling fun
all day long. 2701 Prospect Park Dr. Rancho Cordova. 638-7225.
sackids.org

Statewide Museum Collections Center

A first-time Museum Day participant, the Statewide Museum
Collections Center will be conducting guided tours of its
numerous vaults, archives and processing rooms (an orientation
exhibit will be open for self-guided tours). The facility
provides over 160,000 square feet of storage for over one million
historic objects and artifacts belonging to the Department of
Parks and Recreation. 4940 Lang Ave. McClellan. 263-0805.
parks.ca.gov

For a full list of venues participating in Sacramento Museum Day,
click on this handy guide at sacmuseums.org.